On a request contesting the enforcement of Section 144 for by-elections, the LHC reserves its decision.

The Lahore High Court postponed making a decision on a petition that contested the application of Section 144 during the by-elections on Thursday.

Malik Najiullah, a citizen, filed a petition against the application of Section 144 during the by-elections, which was considered by Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan of the LHC.

The petitioner contended that the Home Department was not involved in the transparency of the by-elections and added that the polls’ openness was called into question by the application of Section 144.

The petitioner argued that Section 144 was also in effect during the general elections, a claim that was rejected by a single judge.

According to him, he appealed the single bench’s ruling inside the court, but the two-member bench that was formed did not rule against the application of Section 144 because of the general elections.

The petitioner claimed that Section 144 was once more applied during the by-elections, which he said violated the fundamental rights. In order to prevent Section 144 from being applied during the by-elections, he asked the court to do so.

Later on, the court decided not to rule on the petition.